Parents who claimed their son was lured to a backyard and set on fire by bullies were not telling the truth.
Dominick Krankall, six, suffered second and third-degree burns all over his body in late April.
HIs parents accused their eight-year-old neighbour of coaxing him round the back of the house and setting him on fire with gasoline and a lighter.
However, one of the accused boy’s relatives released footage showing four children, including Dominick, starting fires and kicking a burning football around.
Dominick either kicked or stepped on a plastic cup that was filled with the flammable liquid that caught fire.
He fell to the ground but the footage, obtained by , does not show the other boys targeting him or pouring more gasoline.
Laura Giacobbe, the mother of one of the other boys, said: ‘They were interacting in the backyard, being boys.
‘Dominick was not left there to die. My 11-year-old son, Lorenzo, saved him, took his bare hands and took the fire out on his face.’
Police in Bridgeport, Connecticut, previously said there was no evidence that Dominick was bullied or that foul play was involved.
They said: ‘The video footage recorded four children (ages six, seven, eight and eleven) playing together in the rear yard of the residence.
At least three of the children (ages six, seven and eight) were observed playing with fire and gasoline.’
Giacobbe said the video clears her son, and that her family has received threats since the initial reports that Dominick was attacked.
‘The police department had to sit in front of the home overnight to make sure nothing happened. It was stated the house would be lit on fire, they were going to drag my son and myself down the street and let us suffer from the pain,’ Giacobbe told WFSB.
‘For closure, for the truth now, for closure, I want this out there so I can have this out there. Come out with the truth and not use their child for money.
‘This is sickening, very sad that you can wrap a child and lie all over the world.’
Meanwhile, Dominick, who has been released from the hospital and recovered, in a last week thanked people who donated nearly $600,000 to his online fundraiser.
He said: ‘Thanks for all the prayers that made me feel so well and all the gifts. And thanks for the money to buy a house. I love you all.’
Police are continuing to investigate the incident, with more interviews possibly on the horizon.
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